The Pittsburgh Steelers gave head coach Mike Tomlin a three-year contract extension yesterday that ties him to the team through the 2027 season. Tomlin had just one year left on his contract, which would have expired after the 2024 season, and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said it was “very real” that Tomlin was considering other opportunities given his contract status.
“This is something that was toward the end of the season as the Steelers were struggling and their offense was crap. It was very real that Tomlin was considering options both now and after this season,” Florio said on PFT Live “And for the first time in his tenure as Steelers head coach, he was entering into what would’ve been lame-duck season, and it gave him the ability to think differently than he ever has.”
It seemed like a foregone conclusion really since last offseason that Tomlin would get a new deal at some point this offseason. But you can never be too cautious or assume that’s the case, so it sounds as if Tomlin was doing some due diligence to see what his options were either now or for after the 2024 season. Tomlin’s one of the most well-respected coaches in the league, and if he were to become a coaching free agent, other teams would likely jump on the opportunity to hire him.
He also could go into TV and likely get a lucrative TV deal from a network, but he said at the NFL owners meetings in March that his heart is in coaching and his desire is to coach the Steelers. It also doesn’t hurt that the Steelers reportedly made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the league, either.
It’s not surprising to hear that Tomlin was looking around. It’s the smart thing to do. If you don’t have assurances from a job beyond a certain point, you at least do some research and figure out what options might be out there. Of course, Tomlin’s priority always seemed like it was to return to the Steelers. With the Steelers wanting him back, the two sides were able to work things out and keep Tomlin in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future.
The extension should finally quell all the speculation that was popping up toward the end of last season about Tomlin potentially leaving, speculation that was at least, so it seems, grounded in some reality with Tomlin reportedly looking around. Florio was the first to report that Tomlin would sign an extension with the Steelers, before the team’s Week 16 game last season when rumors were really flying about his future. So while he might have been looking, the team always planned to bring him back, and now Tomlin will look to find some playoff success with a revamped Steelers roster.
